Illinois Click It or Ticket Mobilization Results

May 31, 2016 11:54 AM

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Illinois State Police, and hundreds of local law enforcement agencies joined forces during the recent Click It or Ticket mobilization. The intensive campaign ran 24/7 from May 16-30, cracking down on seat belt law violators and impaired drivers in an effort to make Illinois roadways safer.

During this timeframe, The Galesburg Police issued:

6 seat belt citations

3 DUI arrests

6 uninsured motorists

2 speeding citations

1 suspended/revoked driving arrest

"These numbers are more than statistics," said Lt. Russell Idle. "They offer hard evidence that some people still choose to practice unsafe driving behaviors and that seat belt and impaired driving laws save lives."

IDOT data shows that between 2010 and 2014, 3,075 people riding in vehicles died in crashes. Of those, 1,492 (about 48 percent) were properly buckled. That means more than 50 percent of those who died in crashes during this timeframe were not properly buckled.

Even though the Click It or Ticket mobilization has ended, officers enforce seat belt laws year round. Be sure to buckle up in both front and back seats, day and night, every trip, every time.

Illinois law also requires children to be properly restrained at all times while riding in a vehicle. Child passengers must ride in a car seat or booster seat until age 8, and passengers under 13 years old should ride in the back seat.